Pride and Pain
by Alkinine
Summary: People forget pain too quickly' Faustin was wrong, his death proves this. Some people never forget pain, some just hold a grudge until they die and some turn their grudges into vendetta's. Will Niko's past murders lead to his own? A new face is in LC
1. Beyond the Final Destination

2:45 March 23, 2008

'Hey Lenny! Faustin don't like you no more!'

'Suck my balls you fucking serf!' retaliated Niko's target as he signalled for his 'muscle' to take care of this shit-head. One of the bodyguards charged at Niko reaching for his Micro-Uzi. Niko whipped out his Glock 22 firing two rounds into the bodyguard, he hit the ground instantly. Niko suddenly felt arms grapple around his neck, halting the oxygen flow too his now million-miles-a-minute brain. Niko did however hear the train coming down the track. He dropped the Glock and went limp, causing his attacker too loosen his grip. Quick as a flash Niko flipped the attacker onto the track using the forward momentum to leap onto the clear side. He climbed onto the platform effortlessly before bolting too the stairs and taking them down three at a time so that he reached the street below just as Lenny dived into his blue and yellow banshee.

'You're fucking mine!' Cried Niko as he ripped out an SMG, spraying the back tires.

'No please! DON'T KILL ME! I'm no rat!' Niko calmly walked up to the driver's seat to find Lenny clutching his phone to his ear.

'Faustin gave me orders... I'm sorry Lenny....' Niko then pulled the trigger letting SMG bullets tear through the man. He dropped his phone, which Niko saw the word 'connected' flash up on its screen. Niko picked it up, putting it too his ear. He heard a panicked voice yelling through the phone, 'LEONID! FUCKING ANSWER ME YOU CU- and hung up before chucking the mobile in the car with the disfigured corpse. Niko reached into his jackets side pocket and unpinned a grenade before dropping it near the vehicle and bailing.

*

_The burnt remains of Lenny Petrovic, the son of acquitted crime lord and successful businessman Konstantin Petrovic were found today..._ blared the 60 inch LCD TV ... _shortly after the 26 year old was killed in an explosion... _'Shut up... shut up... shut up...' muttered the man menacingly. ..._involving his car, the police are still searching the scene... _'Shut up, Shut up'_ ...for evidence as to who could have do-_'SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!' he screamed, throwing the coffee mug he'd been nesting in his hands at the screen.

'What the fuck are you doing?!' shouted the other man jumping back as an explosion of blue sparks leapt from the TV as he entered the room.

'I don't fucking know!' replied the man, hysterically hyperventilating as tear trickled down his face. 'No one fucking knows...' he said breaking down. 'I miss him... And I swear... I swear if I get my hands on this cunt... I'll f- fu-FUCKING RIP HIS BALLS OFF!'

'Take it easy child- I'm not a child...' he snapped back icily, his once thick Russian growl creeping back into his voice.

'Do you know who killed him?' He asked weakly falling back onto the couch exhaustedly

'No.'

'AGGGHHHHHHHHH!' he screamed again as he suddenly leapt up off the couch before overturning the coffee table in a burst of rage. 'No ONE fucking KNOWS!'

'I will know tomorrow.' Konstantin said quickly, hoping to calm the hysterical man down.

'Dmitry Rascalov wants to cut us a deal. He won't tell me who killed my son but he has said that it was Mikhail Faustin that ordered for it too happen... ' he finished unemotionally

'How can you be so _unaffected? It's like you don't care..._' said the younger man in a furious whisper.

'I've lost my son you _cacushski_, my _only_ _son_, and you think I don't _care_?' roared back the older man.

The concluding silence seemed to last forever, until the older man gave in.

'The meeting... tomorrow... you're free too come along with me...'

'Look Konstantin... Goodnight...'


	2. Cutting Deals

The black Limo pulled up to the meeting place as the afternoon was coming to a close.

'The Pink Triangle?! 'You call this a fucking meeting place?' he raised his voice scornfully over SPLIN's _Liniya zhizni_ playing on VLADIVOSTOK FM, 'You'll probably do more fucking around than anything else'

'Watch it...' Petrovic replied aggressively as the driver brought the PMP 600 to a stop before the strip club.

'Seriously Mr Petrovic, I mean what I say and no disrespect intended but why this place? It's not likes it's the Honker's Gentlemen Club and even _that_ still wouldn't be appropriate...'

'And _that's_ exactly why I chose it.'

'What do you mean?'

'If we were too use the Honker's Gentlemen's Club for example; such a high profile place would attract a lot of attention.' Petrovic began to explain 'however using this place, as its low key, enjoyable and I know the owner personally I don't have to worry about being screwed over when the deal goes down.'

'I see...' said the younger man deep in thought.

'Mr Petrovic, a black van has pulled up two car lengths behind us...' informed the Limo driver in Russian, the only language he knew how too speak even though he could understand english.

'Thank you Mr Kamarov' Petrovic replied with one foot already out the door, 'Please keep the car running.'

'Da.'

'Sidney, are you coming?'

'Yes Mr Petrovic, just give me a moment to clean my mess up.' He was referring to the piles of paper work dealing with the return he got for protection.

'No Kamarov will do it, Kamarov would you please clean up the boy's files'

'No, please Mr Petrovic I'd rather do it myself?

'Okay but I can't hold up the meeting for you, just be aware of that.'

'Yes Mr Petrovic' replied Sidney with a smile

As soon as Petrovic closed the door, Sidney gave the driver a nervous look as he rummaged through his black leather bag finding the item he'd been looking for. The driver only smiled as Sidney gave him a pleading look as if not to breath a word of this too Petrovic; as he wrapped his right hand around the handle of a Glock 22. The Driver nodded and gave Sidney a wink in return as if to say his secret was safe with him. Sidney nodded with a sincerely grateful smile before putting the gun into the inside of his expensive Perseus suit.

'Could you please clean up my mess, before Petrovic gets back in the car?'

'Da Sidorenko'

'_Ni puha ni pera_' Sidorenko said as he stepped out of the Limo.

'_k chertu_' replied Kamarov with a smile on his face

Sidney's shiny black shoes shone a purple hue as they moved along underneath the disco lights of the clubs interior. Slow but sleazy jazz music was playing. The strippers upon their circular stages ground delicate flesh against firm polished pole in time with the music. In the far corner near the back Sidney saw Petrovic in serious conversation with two other men. He proceeded towards them but was stopped halfway by a smaller stripper with the perkiest breasts Sidney had ever seen, she had a cute face with beautiful eyes.

'Wanna come back with me honey?' she said in a Southern drawl, grabbing Sidney's hand softly and placing it under her bra too play with her glorious bosom.

Sidney felt his palm brush against her erect nipple and pulled his hand away calmly before saying too her in his thickest and bluntest Russian accent.

'I'm here to see some men.'

'Well you're not gonna find them here. We only have women here, sorry...' she said apologetically, misunderstanding what he meant

'Get the hell out of my way.' He said in a raised voice, causing the stripper to jump aside in fright.

'... Niko Belic is his name, look it wasn't his fault he had no idea who Lenny was, I kept trying to talk Faustin out of it and he just wouldn't listen he always used too just disagree on things with me that was his nature...' said a weedy blond man with an Americanised-Russian accent, this must've been the scum-sucker Dimitri Rascalov. 'Our main objective here is to cut a deal where Niko is spared.'

'Why do you think I'd spare the life of my murder's son?' asked Petrovic gravely

'Well actually that's where affiliate Mr Bulgarin comes in...' Dimitri began respectfully 'Mr Bulgarin ran a people-smuggling trade in the Mediterranean and blames Niko Belic for the compromise of one of his shipments_- So in short this means what?_' interrupted Mr Petrovic bluntly, tired of this man babbling on.

'It means that the only reason we wish for Mr Belic too be spared is so that Mr Bulgarin can kill him.' Replied Dimitri

'I think that Mr Belic should really be dealt with by the Petrovic's.' Said Sidney casually, earning a death stare from Dimitri.

'Mr Petrovic, is there some way that we can come to an agreement as to spare Mr Belic's life temporarily?'

'Yes. Niko is to kill Mr Faustin since it was he who fully knew the impacts of what killing my son could bring. It will be atonement for his sins against my family...'

'That can definitely be arranged' said Dimitri sincerely, the briefest smile of relief flickering on his lips. This went past Petrovic who didn't seem to notice as he stared into the bottom of his vodka filled cup. But too Sidney this said everything.

'If you'll excuse me I need to go to the men's.'

'Of course, Mr Petrovic' said Dimitri respectively

As Petrovic walked off to the toilet Dimitri turned to speak in Bulgarin's ear but noticed Sidney staring at them both coldly.

'What do you want?!' snapped Dimitri obviously now P.O'd that Sidney was listening in on their conversations now.

'Too make a deal with you.'

'The only person I make deals with is Mr Petrovic not his support, now fuck off!'

'I assume you wish to be spared as well then?' asked Sidney calmly, dislike ringing in his voice. He was going to get through too Dimitri.

'Why would I need to bargain that? I did nothing wrong!' threw back Dimitri, 'I even tried to stop Faustin. I tried to save Mr Petrovic's son.'

'If you had really wanted to save Leonid, you would have physically stopped this Niko, you just don't want to get your hands dirty, am I right?'

'Wrong!' Dimitri said raising his voice in anger

'Please, Mr Rascalov you knew that Faustin would do it. Every time you voiced your disapproval of the idea Faustin kept coming around to it. You said yourself Faustin used too always go against you on everything, it was in his nature!' Now Sidney was furious, 'You knew this. You just wanted Faustin to do something this rash so that you could use Mr Petrovic to get rid of him.'

'That's a lie!' fired Dimitri

'You had hoped that Petrovic would come to the conclusion of using Niko to kill Faustin. So that you could rid yourself of both of them...'

'You must be insane.'

'No I'm just right.' Said Sidney a smile adorning his handsome features, 'I sure Petrovic will agree with me when I tell him.'

'What do you want?' asked Dimitri knowing he had no choice but to do what Sidney wanted.

'This Niko, I want to borrow him- 'absolutely not!' Dimitri and Bulgarin interrupted quickly in unison

'Hear me out Mr Rascalov, Mr Bulgarin, I assure his safety, however as my own personal revenge I want to use him before tossing him to back to you.'

'What do you have in mind?' Dimitri asked gravely

'I want you to send him to me. I want you to make him think I'm interested in hiring him.'

'And I f I do Mr Shvakova, besides your silence about this Leonid topic what else do I get?'

'Besides my cooperation and Niko's life you can have...' Sidney thought about it, 'What if I use Niko to take out one of your competition? But only one!' Sidney finished firmly

'Take out a member of my competition... what? Besides you?'

'You consider me competition? That's laughable. Mr Dimitri, you best start picking fights you can actually win. I'd wipe the underworld floor with you.'

Dimitri gave Sidney a cold look before writing down his number on a napkin and sliding over the tabletop, just as Petrovic walked out of the bathroom.

'We best be going now Sidney he said without losing stride.'

'Best. _Das Vadanya_' Replied Sidney finally flashing a fake smile to both Bulgarin and Dimitri

'...faggot...' said Dimitri quietly as Sidney followed Petrovic out of the club's back exit. Sidney suddenly turned around holding Dimitri's number in his hand, as if to taunt him about his loss. Dimitri rose from the table growling with his eyes, which only earned a smile from Sidney who turned around exiting the club for good.


	3. A Change of Plans

Niko rocked up to the wharf at sunset cutting the engine of his Zombie as he leapt off the growling red beast. He walked along the empty pier, reaching the water's edge as the sun disappeared over the horizon sending magnificent rays of golden sunlight through the already pink skies. In a few minutes the sun would have disappeared beyond his view and it'd get dark. Niko began to think about his previous boss turned victim Mikhail Faustin. What were his words? Something about people not feeling pain? Niko couldn't remember. What Niko distinctively remembered was Faustin calling out to him as he fled up the flights of corrugated iron stairs

'America has made Dimitri greedy. It made him betray _me_ his own brother. He will betray you as well, you will discover this for yourself...'

Was killing Faustin the right thing to do? Had Dimitri really betrayed Faustin or had he brought it upon himse- 'Niko! You showed up!' shouted Dimitri interrupting Niko's thoughts as he walked down the pier towards him.

'Yes. I'm getting payed. Of course I'd show up' Said Niko slightly suspicious, 'I am getting payed right?'

'Well that's the thing Mr Belic...' Dimitri began to explain his tone now formal and matter-of-fact.

'I'm getting payed right?' questioned Niko menacingly as he reached into his pocket to grab his Glock 22.

'Put the gun away Mr Belic.' Said Dimitri undisturbed by Niko reaching for his weapon like it was a mere water pistol. 'I have a business proposition for you...' He continued normally. Niko remained silent as he placed the pistol back in his jacket. Dimitri quirked an eyebrow like he was waiting for an answer.

'I'm listening Dimitri...' said Niko slightly pissed off.

'An affiliate of mine has heard about your work and wishes to hire you.'

'What kind of work?'

'Dealing with liabilities and taking care of businesses'

'No dice Dimitri, give me the money and let me fucking leave. I've _taken care_ of enough of your clients; I don't want to deal with anymore of them...'

'Niko, he's offering three times your original cut...' Said Dimitri lifting the briefcase in his left hand to indicate its contents. Niko stood there in silence weighing up the options. After a few minutes silence he finally gave in.

'FINE!' he gave in, 'FUCKING FINE! JUST DON'T PULL ANY OF THIS SHIT ON ME EVER AGAIN!' he yelled as he storming off to his bike.

'Niko!' called Dimitri, Niko turned around and saw Dimitri pull out a huge bundle of cash from his jacket pocket before throwing it too.

'You'll get the rest in instalments each time you complete one of his jobs.

'How many 'jobs' does he want me for?'

'I don't know.'

'Goodbye Dimitri...' said Niko wearily heading back to his bike; his caffeine buzz wearing off, time too head too Michelle's for some.... _hot coffee._

Niko sped onto the streets; the roar of his engine could still be heard growling out into the night as even after Niko was way out of sight.

'Goodbye Niko...' said Dimitri gravely throwing the C4 filled briefcase into the water.


End file.
